My English class has recently begun studying
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, so I thought it
was an appropriate time to look into paintings depicting subject matter from
the play. Many artists have painted the scene in which Ophelia, the love
interest of Hamlet, drowns. I suspect part of the appeal of painting this scene
lies in the mystery of it because Shakespeare only describes the death through
the words of one character, Gertrude, and not through a visual representation
on stage. One of the only facts known about Ophelia’s death and probable
suicide (it is unknown whether Ophelia accidentally drowns or kills herself,
though the assumption is that she does indeed kill herself) is that she dies in
a pond in the spring. The artist John Everett Millais decided to focus on the
pond in his depiction of her death. Millais was a founding member of the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an English coalition of painters dedicated to being
truthful to nature. The Pre-Raphaelites (other founding members include William
Hunt and Dante Rossetti) believed that a decline in art had occurred as a
result of the Royal Academy’s grip on the art of the day. The Academy chose
what style of art to teach, gave advice to artists regarding proper subject
matter, and recognized only artists who conformed to the Academy’s definition
of art. The Academy especially admired the artwork of Raphael, a Renaissance
master. Unlike the Academy, The Pre-Raphaelites believed that in order to
revive the art form of painting, painters must look to the masters who came
before Raphael, thus the name Pre-Raphaelites. As a Pre-Raphaelite, Millais
wanted to depict nature truthfully, so he spent up to eleven hours a day
working on the surrounding pond before moving on to Ophelia. Millais paid
careful attention to detail and included symbolism in his work. Background
flowers include willows representing love, nettle representing pain, daises
representing innocence, and pansies representing thought. Millais originally
painted daffodils, but painted over them when he discovered that they do not
grow in spring. Millais’ model for Ophelia had to endure hours soaking in a
bathtub with only candles lit beneath the tub to warm her because Millais wanted
to view the best representation of a female floating in water. He paid special
attention to how the model’s hair appeared in the water. Millais’ Ophelia is
the most popular version of the character. It often draws a crowd at the Tate
Gallery in London where it hangs, and for good reason. The detail is
incredible. The result of Millais’ hard work is a painting that will be
cherished forever.
